Pre-diagnosis health-related quality of life and survival in older women with endometrial cancer

Menée à partir des données des registres américains des cancers et de la base Medicare portant sur 995 patientes atteintes d'un cancer de l'endomètre et âgées d'au moins 65 ans, cette étude analyse l'association entre la qualité de vie, mesurée avant le diagnostic, et la survie

Supportive Care in Cancer, sous presse, 2020, résumé

Résumé en anglais

Purpose : Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important prognostic factor in cancer patients. To date, no other studies have assessed the association between HRQOL measured before diagnosis and survival in older women with endometrial cancer.

Methods : The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results – Medicare Health Outcomes Survey linked database was used to identify 995 women who were at least 65 years old and completed a survey before diagnosis with endometrial cancer. We obtained scores for 10 HRQOL scales, as measured by Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 and Veterans RAND 12-Item Survey, and data on activities of daily living (ADLs) impairments and depressive symptoms. Fine and Gray competing risks regression and Cox proportional hazards were used to estimate the association of HRQOL with endometrial cancer-specific and overall survival, respectively.

Results : Women who died had worse pre-diagnosis HRQOL than women who were still alive at the end of the study period. For every five-point increase in HRQOL score, overall survival improved by 5–9%. The strongest associations were observed for vitality (HR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.86, 0.97, p = 0.0021) and physical functioning (HR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.87, 0.97, p = 0.0010). ADL impairments were generally not predictive of survival, though depressive symptoms were significantly associated with increased hazard of death from all causes (HR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.00, 1.79, p = 0.0466).

Conclusion : HRQOL measured before diagnosis with endometrial cancer has prognostic value. Having measures of HRQOL available at diagnosis may facilitate timely supportive care to improve survival.